Improvement in table-leaf supports



.DANIEL BULL.

Improvement in Table-Leaf Supports.

N0.128,108, Patented 1une18,1872.

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O l 4 O Issues DANIEL BULL, OF AMBOY, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN TABLE-LEAF SUPPORTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 128,108, dated June 18,1872.

f Srnorricnrion.

I, Daniel Bull, of Amboy, in the county oi Lee and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in TableLeaf Supports, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof.

N atnic and Object of the Invention.

The object of my invention is to make a table-leaf support which willlock automatically when the table-leaf is raised, and which will not be'liable to become unlocked by careless handling by children or otherwise,but which can be readily unlocked when it is desired to let the leaffall.

The nature of my invention consists in providing the lower piece A withan oblong slot, B, in which the upper hinged piece C is inserted, and inwhich it plays back and forth when the support is unfolded; and it alsoconsists in the beveled cut er catch upon the upper end ofthe slottedpiece A, in combination with the beveled slide-block D, which lock thesupport; and it further consists in the combination of the upper pieceC, made open at one end, and the plate E, which isv fastened to theunder side of the table-leaf, and provided with a projection extendingbetween the arms of the upper piece C to hold the arms from springing soas to interfere with the working' of the slide-block D. My inventionalso consists in making my support of the several pieces shown, and intheir peculiar construction and arrangement in other respects than thosementioned, as will be hereafter more fully described.

Description of the Draw/ing.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the tableleaf support applied toa table, the full lines showing the table-leaf raised and the broken ordotted lines showing it down. Fig. 2 represents a top view of theseveral parts of my table-leaf support when the several parts areproperly together. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the same, withthe plate E detached. Fig. 4 represents a bottom view of the same 5 andFig. 5 represents a vertical, transverse, sectional view through theslideblock D at the line a: a: in Fig. 2.

General Description.

In the drawing T represents any fall-leaf table, and T aleaf hinged tothe table in any ordinary manner. One end of my table-leaf support ishinged to the under side of the table-leaf and the other end to thetable, as shown in Fig. l. The lower piece A of the support is hinged tothe upper piece G by passing one end of the upper piece through the slotB, and by drawing the said piece through said slot, and then turning thesaid piece in the position shown in the drawing; by raising the upper orouter end of the piece C until the projections c are above theprojections a the piece C may be made to play back and forth in the slotB, so that'the pieces A and C may assume the position relative to each,shown by the broken lines in Fig. l, when the leaf is folded or letdown, as there shown, and when the leaf is raised the piece C will bedrawn to the other end of the slot B. The support will then be in theposition shown` by the full lines representing it in Fig. 1. In order tolock the support so that it willsupport the leaf T in a horizontalposition, I insert the beveled slide-block D between the arms of thepiece C, and when the support is in the position last described theslide-block 'D will slide down between the arms of the piece G until itrests upon the beveled edge of the upper end of the piece A, as shown inFigs. 1 and 3, and when the block D is in this position the piece (lcannot be lifted, so that the projections c will be raised above the projections c, owing to the projection upon the upper end of the piece Aoverlapping the slide-block D, in other words, the support is locked bythe slide-block D, so that the leaf T is heldin the position shown bythe full lines in Fig. 1. When it is desired to unlock the support theslide-block D is drawn upward until it is disengaged from the projectionupon the piece A, and the piece C may then be folded in the mannerdescribed, there being play enough between the projections a and thepiece C to allow the piece A to be first raised sufficiently to releasethe projection a from its engagement with the slide-block D, so that thelatter may be drawn up in the manner described. A small rib, d, is madeacross the lower face of the slide-block D in order that it may be themore readily caught by the fingers for the purpose of sliding it in themanner described. As the leaf T begins to fall, the sliding block D isreleased by the fingers, when it slides down the piece C until *itreaches the lower end of the grooves f f, in which it slides.

As the leaf T is raised the piece C is drawn up in the slot B, and theupper bevel or incline upon the upper end of the piece A strikes thebeveled end of the slideblock D and carries it up until the leaf israised, when the slide-block D drops off the upper bevel or incline uponthe piece A and slidesmdown against the lower bevel of the same piece,so that the support is locked again--in other words, the leaf or supportis in this manner automatically locked when the leaf is raised, and itis simple and easy to be unlocked by a person acquainted with itsoperation, and unlikely to be unlocked by chance or accident. In orderto prevent the arms of the piece C from being brought together so as toobstruct the sliding movement of the block D, I have provided the pieceE with a projection, e, which remains between the said arms in theposition shown in Fig. 2.

The plate F is made sufficiently thin upon one end to be inserted intothe hooked end of the piece A. The piece F is then moved laterally untilthe end of the hook is over the central opening in the piece F, whichpiece is then turned in the position shown in Figs. l,

ing in the hook between the end of the hook and the piece A.

Claim.

H( ving described the nature and object, construction, and operation, ofmy invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the slotted piece A and the piece C whenconstructed substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

2. The piece A, when provided with a shouldered and beveled head, inlcombination with the slide-block D, when constructed substantially inthe manner shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the piece C, the plate E provided with thcprojection e, and the block D, when constructed and operatingsubstantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. The combination of the beveled slideblock D and the piece C,substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

DANIEL BULL. Witnesses:

WILLIAM GALE, JOHN GARDINERL

